Quote:
Originally Posted by Tropics
Westbrook is part of Rosscarrock if I am not mistaken. Shaganappi is all of the low rise single family detached homes to the east of Westbrook and includes the golf course lands, which leads to a hugely low population density for what is within those boundaries. Westbrook redevelopment will add density to Rosscarrock and Shaganappi will still "look" low density, although it will but right up against an urban node. There are some lots of land right on the west of Shaganappi that face Westbrook that have been re-zoned for higher density and those lots have been sold and will likely be redeveloped once things get going there.
Westbrook (the area) is already fairly urban when you take into account the Westgate Towers right across the street from Westbrook on the North. Not too far away is also the Copperwood condo complex which is also quite dense. Both of those are in Spruce Cliff as the boundaries of the communities around there tend to get cut right at Westbrook. Adding density right to the plot of land where the mall is is easily going to create what will become the most urban, non-core node in the entire city from what I can think of. That immediate area will dwarf the population density of something like University City and will rival some of the most dense areas of the Beltline.
This could be the premier spot in Calgary for people who want an urban living experience with all of the amenities, close to downtown, right on the LRT line, and yet with a golf course right next door and easy access to the river path system.
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Excellent points. I wasn't really trying to compare density of the neighbourhoods directly themselves, rather their overall populations and the distribution of that population. For me, truly being an urban area is more than having high-density, it is the pedestrian-orientation of the neighbourhood structure. Pedestrian-focused retail requires high levels of traffic within walking distance, something that few areas in the city outside of the core have. Pockets of this exist along 17th Ave in the area already and the street continues to improve with adding more and more people in the blocks adjacent.
The condo complex directly north of Westbrook fails for me in this regard despite being relatively well designed. It effectively is isolated from the station and other pedestrian-focused services and far more car-oriented than any similar development in the Beltline or other truly urban neighbourhoods (while simultaneously being one of the least car-oriented spots in the immediate area). It doesn't help that the LRT construction was paired with Bow Trail widening (regrettable, but understandable politically), creating essentially an wide strip of semi-expressway that is the exactly the opposite of what every successful urban area needs.
17th Ave has much better opportunities to do things right as the pedestrian space has always had pockets of vitality all along it, not to mention offering a far more pleasant and barrier free corridor; narrower, slower traffic and more crossings.
It's so important they get this right. Those Lion's Park mall towers have the ~175 units between them, but are so shit at ground level that pretty much ruins all pedestrian-orientation possibilities there for another generation. Lido / Kensington / St. Johns are similar scale / density and offer a completely different outcome of increasingly supporting pedestrian space and retail.
Calgary doesn't have many other chances this good to start a serious pedestrian-focused node. I hope they don't screw it up.
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